Current guidelines recommend using Bland–Altman plots (BA‐plots), also called Difference plots, as part of method comparison evaluation in the veterinary clinical pathology laboratory. Analysis of ...differences can meaningfully augment linear regression techniques and allows fuller summarization of the performance of two methods relative to each other. This work summarizes the current literature on BA‐plot composition and evaluation. Model data is used to demonstrate data evaluation approaches based on the observed differences, the combined inherent imprecision of the methods, and clinically relevant performance goals. Common limitations of the approaches, including points of frequent misinterpretation, are presented. BA‐plot analysis can be part of an intentionally crafted method comparison study that provides analytically and clinically relevant data.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The Dunkin Hartley is the most common guinea pig strain used in biomedical research, particularly for studies of asthma, allergy, infectious disease, reproduction, and osteoarthritis. Minimally ...invasive blood tests, such as complete blood counts and serum biochemistry profiles, are often collected for diagnostics and laboratory analyses. However, reference intervals for these assays have not yet been well-documented in this strain. The purpose of this study was to establish reference intervals for hematologic and biochemical parameters of Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs and determine age- and sex-related differences. Hematologic and biochemical parameters were retrospectively obtained from 145 male and 68 female guinea pigs between 2 and 15 months of age. All blood parameters were analyzed by a veterinary clinical pathology laboratory. Reference intervals were established according to the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology guidelines. Age- and sex-related differences were determined using unpaired t-tests or nonparametric Mann-Whitney tests. Hematocrit, red blood cell distribution width, mean platelet volume, white blood cell count, heterophils, monocytes, eosinophils, glucose, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, calcium, magnesium, total protein, albumin, globulin, cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma glutamyl transferase, and bicarbonate increased with age. Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, cellular hemoglobin concentration mean, platelets, lymphocytes, phosphorus, albumin/globulin ratio, alkaline phosphatase, anion gap, and calculated osmolality decreased with age. Males had higher hemoglobin, hematocrit, red blood cell count, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, white blood cell count, heterophils, Foa-Kurloff cells, alanine aminotransferase, and bicarbonate and lower mean corpuscular volume, red blood cell distribution width, platelets, mean platelet volume, eosinophils, total protein, albumin, globulin, cholesterol, potassium, anion gap, calculated osmolality, and iron compared to females. Establishing age and sex differences in hematologic and biochemical parameters of Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs provides valuable insight into their physiology to better evaluate diagnostics and experimental results.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Soils have been identified as a major source (~15%) of global nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Parameterizations of soil NOx emissions (SNOx) commonly used in the current generation of chemical ...transport models were designed to capture mean seasonal behaviour. These parameterizations do not, however, respond quantitatively to the meteorological triggers that are observed to result in pulsed SNOx. Here we present a new parameterization of SNOx implemented within a global chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem). The parameterization represents available nitrogen (N) in soils using biome specific emission factors, online wet- and dry-deposition of N, and fertilizer and manure N derived from a spatially explicit dataset, distributed using seasonality derived from data obtained by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer. Moreover, it represents the functional form of emissions derived from point measurements and ecosystem scale experiments including pulsing following soil wetting by rain or irrigation, and emissions that are a smooth function of soil moisture as well as temperature between 0 and 30 °C. This parameterization yields global above-soil SNOx of 10.7 Tg N yr−1, including 1.8 Tg N yr−1 from fertilizer N input (1.5% of applied N) and 0.5 Tg N yr−1 from atmospheric N deposition. Over the United States (US) Great Plains region, SNOx are predicted to comprise 15–40% of the tropospheric NO2 column and increase column variability by a factor of 2–4 during the summer months due to chemical fertilizer application and warm temperatures. SNOx enhancements of 50–80% of the simulated NO2 column are predicted over the African Sahel during the monsoon onset (April–June). In this region the day-to-day variability of column NO2 is increased by a factor of 5 due to pulsed-N emissions. We evaluate the model by comparison with observations of NO2 column density from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). We find that the model is able to reproduce the observed interannual variability of NO2 (induced by pulsed-N emissions) over the US Great Plains. We also show that the OMI mean (median) NO2 observed during the overpass following first rainfall over the Sahel is 49% (23%) higher than in the five days preceding. The measured NO2 on the day after rainfall is still 23% (5%) higher, providing a direct measure of the pulse's decay time of 1–2 days. This is consistent with the pulsing representation used in our parameterization and much shorter than 5–14 day pulse decay length used in current models.
Protein electrophoresis and immunotyping can be a useful adjunct to the standard biochemical techniques for characterizing serum and urine proteins. This paper reviews currently available and ...commonly used methods for diagnostic protein electrophoresis, including both agarose gel and capillary zone electrophoretic techniques and total protein assessments. Immunofixation and immunosubtraction methods for identification of immunoglobulin location and class are also presented. Practical application of quality assurance and quality control strategies in compliance with American Society of Veterinary Clinical Pathology (ASVCP) best practices are discussed. Commonly encountered serum and urine electrophoretic diagnostic patterns, including electrophoretically normal, acute‐phase protein responses, polyclonal gammopathies, restricted polyclonal/oligoclonal gammopathies, paraproteinemias (monoclonal or biclonal gammopathies), and Bence‐Jones proteinurias are also reviewed using relevant case material. Cases in which immunofixation electrophoresis are particularly useful are highlighted, and methodologies to more accurately quantify serum monoclonal proteins (M‐proteins), monitoring tests commonly used in human medicine, are discussed.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
This study was designed to determine the incidence of venous and arterial thromboembolic events (TEEs) in patients treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy and to analyze the prognostic value of ...patients' baseline and treatment characteristics in predicting TEE occurrence.
We performed a large retrospective analysis of all patients treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy for any type of malignancy at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in 2008. A TEE was cisplatin-associated if it occurred between the time of the first dose of cisplatin and 4 weeks after the last dose.
Among 932 patients, 169 (18.1%) experienced a TEE during treatment or within 4 weeks of the last dose. TEEs included deep vein thrombosis (DVT) alone in 49.7%, pulmonary embolus (PE) alone in 25.4%, DVT plus PE in 13.6%, arterial TEE alone in 8.3%, or DVT plus arterial TEE in 3.0%. TEEs occurred within 100 days of initiation of treatment in 88% of patients. By univariate analysis, sex, age, race, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), exposure to erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, presence of central venous catheter (CVC), site of cancer, stage of cancer, leukocyte and hemoglobin levels, and Khorana score were all identified as risk factors. However, by multivariate analysis, only age, KPS, presence of CVC, and Khorana score retained significance.
This large retrospective analysis confirms the unacceptable incidence of TEEs in patients receiving cisplatin-based chemotherapy. In view of the controversy associated with prophylactic anticoagulation in patients with cancer treated with chemotherapy, randomized studies are urgently needed in this specific cancer population treated with cisplatin-based regimens.
The MiniBooNE experiment at Fermilab reports results from an analysis of ν_{e} appearance data from 12.84×10^{20} protons on target in neutrino mode, an increase of approximately a factor of 2 over ...previously reported results. A ν_{e} charged-current quasielastic event excess of 381.2±85.2 events (4.5σ) is observed in the energy range 200<E_{ν}^{QE}<1250 MeV. Combining these data with the νover ¯_{e} appearance data from 11.27×10^{20} protons on target in antineutrino mode, a total ν_{e} plus νover ¯_{e} charged-current quasielastic event excess of 460.5±99.0 events (4.7σ) is observed. If interpreted in a two-neutrino oscillation model, ν_{μ}→ν_{e}, the best oscillation fit to the excess has a probability of 21.1%, while the background-only fit has a χ^{2} probability of 6×10^{-7} relative to the best fit. The MiniBooNE data are consistent in energy and magnitude with the excess of events reported by the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector (LSND), and the significance of the combined LSND and MiniBooNE excesses is 6.0σ. A two-neutrino oscillation interpretation of the data would require at least four neutrino types and indicate physics beyond the three neutrino paradigm. Although the data are fit with a two-neutrino oscillation model, other models may provide better fits to the data.
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CMK, CTK, FMFMET, IJS, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
To define reference intervals (RIs) for arterial blood gas (aBG) measurements in healthy, nonsedated, dolichocephalic, and mesocephalic (nonbrachycephalic) dogs at approximately 1,535 m above sea ...level and compare these findings with healthy, nonsedated, brachycephalic dogs living at the same altitude.
120 adult nonbrachycephalic dogs and 20 adult brachycephalic dogs.
Cases were prospectively enrolled from October 2021 to June 2022. Dogs were enrolled from the community or after presentation for wellness examinations or minor injuries including lacerations, nail injuries, and lameness. Physical examinations and systolic blood pressure (sBP) measurements were obtained before blood sample collection. Arterial blood was collected from the dorsal pedal artery or femoral artery. After data collection, brachycephalic dogs underwent pre- and postexercise tolerance assessments.
The mean and RI values for arterial pH (7.442; 7.375 to 7.515), partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood (Pao2; 78.3; 59.2 to 92.7 mm Hg), partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood (Paco2; 28.0; 21.5 to 34.4 mm Hg), saturation of arterial oxygen (Sao2; 98.4; 84.3% to 101.4%), HCO3 (18.9; 14.9 to 22.4 mmol/L), concentration of total hemoglobin (ctHb; 17.5; 13.4 to 21.1 g/dL), and sBP (133; 94 to 180 mm Hg) were established for healthy nonbrachycephalic dogs at 1,535-m altitude. All aBG measurements were statistically and clinically different from those previously reported for dogs at sea level. Brachycephalic dogs had significantly lower Pao2 and Sao2 (P = .0150 and P = .0237, respectively) and significantly higher ctHb (P = .0396) compared to nonbrachycephalic dogs acclimatized to the same altitude; the nonbrachycephalic RIs were not transferable to the brachycephalic dogs for Pao2.
This study represents the first collation of aBG measurements for healthy nonbrachycephalic dogs acclimatized to an altitude of 1,535 m. Additionally, this study identified differences in arterial oxygenation measurements between brachycephalic and nonbrachycephalic dogs. RIs in brachycephalic dogs need to be established.
Ode to pleomorphism Moore, A Russell
Veterinary clinical pathology,
December 2019, 2019-Dec, 2019-12-00, 20191201, Volume:
48, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
In this study, we describe a multimodal approach to diagnose a unique case of myeloma‐related disease, extranodal secretory B‐cell lymphoma with urinary bladder involvement, an IgG4 monoclonal ...gammopathy, and Bence‐Jones proteinuria in a dog with a 6‐year history of hyperglobulinemia that had not been further evaluated. A 12‐year‐old dog was presented for evaluation of a 1‐week history of tenesmus. Urine sediment cytologic evaluation revealed low to moderate numbers of intermediate to large‐sized lymphocytes. We describe a technique that yielded adequate numbers of viable neoplastic cells in shipped urine sediment for PARR and flow cytometry. Those studies demonstrated a clonal immunoglobulin gene rearrangement and an expansion of CD21‐positive and MHC Class II‐negative B cells, respectively. Protein electrophoresis with immunofixation and proteomic evaluation revealed a serum and urine IgG4 monoclonal gammopathy with Bence‐Jones proteinuria. MUM1 immunocytochemistry performed on the urine sediment slides failed to label the neoplastic cells; thus, a plasma cell tumor was considered unlikely. Lack of response to a cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone chemotherapy regimen led to euthanasia without necropsy 21 days after diagnosis. Lymphoma is the most common hematopoietic malignancy and accounts for up to a quarter of all neoplasms in dogs, but lymphoid neoplasms arising primarily from extranodal sites are infrequently reported. Urinary tract neoplasia can be diagnosed by urine evaluation in about one‐third of canine cases, but the diagnosis of lymphoid neoplasia via urine evaluation is rarely reported. This case highlights the utility of ancillary diagnostics on urine for detection of lymphoid malignancies.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
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